Net Worth: Why the Internet beats TV
Did that headline get your attention? Good. Now comes the inevitable caveat that goes with any bold declaration: "In some cases, the Web is better than television." Much better, in fact.

Realtor auction benefits needy
The St. Augustine Regional Chapter of the Women's Council of Realtors invites the public to the Second Annual W.C.R. Holiday High Tea and Silent Auction on Thursday, Dec. 6, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the St. Augustine Art Association, 22 Marine St.

A few steps taken now can save you taxes next April
NEW YORK (AP) -- The April tax season might seem far away, but now is the time to try to lower your tax bill. Steps to minimize your taxable income and maximize your deductions generally must be taken before year's end to count.

Lincolnville: Proposed garage downtown subject of a hot debate
For the first time in over six years of writing this column, I'm having trouble approaching a subject; but since several people have called, asking that I broach the matter, I will say, quite honestly, that I am not certain if I'm qualified to speak about the proposed parking garage at Bridge and Cordova streets, simply because I don't know anything about it.

Advisory boards wiil have vacancies
North beaches residents? Have you ever considered serving your fellow residents by volunteering with St. Johns County? The Board of County Commissioners has 24 advisory boards and committees addressing a myriad of issues from land use and preservation matters to recreation and utilities.

Three honored by duplicate club for recent honors
Carol Freedman hosted a party at the Bridge Center last Tuesday honoring Frankie Dittman and Harish Hemrajani, who became Life Masters, and Steve Channey, who made Bronze Life Master during the Daytona Beach Regional Tournament.

Community Briefs
Thanksgiving rites...A number of local churches are conducting Thanksgiving services today and Thursday...

Ponte Vedra: Church gearing up for Christmas tree sale
I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving, and the day after that the traditional Christmas shopping season begins. That means it's also time to start thinking about a Christmas tree.The Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church, on State Road A1A in Palm Valley, will once again be selling fresh cut North Carolina Frazier firs at a tree lot on the church property.

Letter to Sen. Leahy had billions of anthrax spores
WASHINGTON -- A letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy was laced with billions of anthrax spores, authorities said Tuesday, and a suspected case of the most deadly form of the disease mysteriously appeared in Connecticut.

National Briefs
ATLANTA (AP) -- Atlanta will become home to one of the world's largest aquariums through a $200 million commitment from The Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus.

National Briefs
NEW YORK (AP) -- A key forecasting gauge of U.S. economic activity rose 0.3 percent last month, but analysts said Tuesday it was not enough to suggest the economy is ready to recover...

Northrop Grumman's future takes flight
An important part of the Northrop Grumman St. Augustine facility's future lifted off the runway Tuesday in a Navy EA-6B Prowler jet. The flight from the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport was made to test a new electronic warfare system designed to protect military planes from being shot down. Prowlers will be refitted with the new system -- Increased Capabilities III -- at the local plant if the system passes final military testing.

Police Beat
Almost two pounds of marijuana washed up on the beach near Fort Matanzas Friday afternoon.

Man remains critical
Marshall Burns, 24, of St. Augustine was still in critical condition at Shands Jacksonville hospital as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Corrections
n John E. Tognini's name was misspelled in a guest column in Sunday's edition of The St. Augustine Record, Page 4A.

Downtown stretch grinds to halt
This may not be New York, but downtown St. Augustine has its own version of vehicular gridlock. On any given day, the stoplight at King Street and U.S. 1 leaves cars backed up for what feels like miles. Traffic can stretch past Riberia Street and down to M.L. King Avenue.

New Townland-use concept debated some more
A state administrative hearing for Nocatee and St. Johns County's New Town land-use concept continued Monday to determine the future of the 15,000-acre development.The hearing at The Center at The St. Augustine Record is to determine if the New Town land-use category is necessary.

Police Beat
A man was stabbed Tuesday night after attempting to break up an argument, St. Augustine Police said.

Airline security law signed
WASHINGTON -- The government began taking charge of airport security Monday at the start of the holiday travel season. President Bush signed legislation that will have more people peering in passengers' bags and more sky marshals flying on their planes.

For the Record
The Enterprising Women's Leadership Institute Spotlight on Business Seminar meets Nov. 27 at TGIFriday's on State Road 312 in the Riverside Shopping Center.

Catherine Chambers
Catherine Ellen Chambers, 81, St. Augustine, died Nov. 19, 2001, at BayView. She was a native of St. Augustine, and she was retired from the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman first class. She was of the Catholic faith.

Joseph Watson Jr.
Joseph Alexander Watson Jr., 49, St. Augustine, died Nov. 18, 2001, at his home. He was born in Trenton, N.J., and he had resided in St. Augustine since 1991. He was a lending officer with Homeside Lending in Jacksonville, and he was a member of the Church on the Rock.

Samuel Hand
Samuel E. Hand, 89, Tallahassee, died Nov. 17, 2001, in Tallahassee. He was a member of the East Hill Baptist Church, and he retired as director of the continuing education department at Florida State University. He was a member of the Rotary Club and of BPOE. He was born in Newton, Ala., and he had resided in Tallahassee for more than 60 years.

Helen Johnson
Helen Johnson, 75, St. Augustine, died Nov. 15, 2001, at Mariner Health Care Center. She was born in Cambridge, Mass., and she was the wife of the late Donald Johnson.

Jesse Burnham
Funeral services for Jesse Fredrick Burnham, 49, St. Augustine, who died Nov. 17, 2001, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Kotrady-Hudgins-Croyle Funeral Home, with Jim Cannon and Ralph Burnham officiating.

William Geddes
William C. Geddes, 73, died Nov. 18, 2001, at Memorial Hospital, Bunnell. Arrangements will be announced by Craig Funeral Home and Crematory.

Ida Mae Duncan
Funeral services for Ida Mae Austin Duncan, 86, who died Nov. 18, 2001, at Flagler Hospital, will be held at 10 a.m. today at Craig Funeral Home with Pastor Ron Moore officiating. Burial will be in Mandarin Cemetery in Mandarin.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Anastasia Baptist Building Fund or Hospice of Northeast Florida.

Ida Mae Duncan
Funeral services for Ida Mae Austin Duncan, 86, who died Nov. 18, 2001, at Flagler Hospital, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Craig Funeral Home with Pastor Ron Moore officiating. Burial will be in Mandarin Cemetery in Mandarin. Friends may call at the funeral home today from 5 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Anastasia Baptist Building Fund or Hospice of Northeast Florida.

Stephen Mussel
Stephen Joseph Mussel, 47, died Nov. 17, 2001, at Flagler Hospital. He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., and he had lived in St. Augustine since 1981. He worked in the construction field, and he was of the Catholic faith.

Catherine Chambers
Catherine Ellen Chambers, 81, St. Augustine, died Nov. 19, 2001, at BayView. She was a native of St. Augustine, and she retired from the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman first class. She was of the Catholic faith.

Jesse Burnham
Jesse Fredrick Burnham, 49, St. Augustine, died Nov. 17, 2001. He was born in Waterbury, Conn., and he had resided in this area since 1985, moving here from Waterbury. He was employed by Fulkerson Towing Company and formerly worked as a self-employed general contractor.

Julia Hutchins
Julia Jordan Hutchins died Nov. 14, 2001, at Medical College of Georgia. She was the wife of the late J. Clyde Hutchins.

Letter: Nolan knowledgeable about Lincolnville
As an educator and Florida resident of long standing who has recently become a St. Augustinian, I looked forward to my first Lincolnville Festival to learn more about the rich history and culture of my adopted city.

Letter: Disturbed about teens with toy guns
Something so disturbing happened to me tonight that I am still left wondering about it hours later into the night. It's Wednesday night at 8 p.m. and my 12-year-old daughter and I are rounding the corner from A1A onto Jellison Road in Crescent Beach at the Handy Way. There, by the gas pumps, were the figures of three boys, probably high school age and certainly not an uncommon sight at the Handy Way at this hour.

Letter: More objectivity needed in sports
Shame on you. The State of Florida has three major colleges with excellent athletic programs and, specifically, outstanding football programs. On Saturday, November 3, each team, the University of Miami, the University of Florida, and Florida State University, was victorious. (As of this writing, only Miami is the undefeated rank.)

Letter: The only thing to fear is fear itself
In his first inaugural address, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "This is pre-eminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today."

Letter: Reader critical of follow-up on anthrax reports
On Oct. 18, you ran a front-page story, "Anthrax scare at Post Office," showing a large picture of the Special Hazardous Operations team in full bio-suits, and the headline, "Suspicious substance to be tested," and a very scary story about the threat of anthrax here in our own little community.

Letter: What is "normal"
I read on the Internet about a surprise attack the U.S. military was going to use in the Middle East, but it wasn't in one major newspaper. Why not? NPR was running a story tonight about all the recent immigrants who were just starting to get on their feet when the economic downturn, or depending on how much you hate President Bush, "the recession," hit and gee, they were all back to square one.

Letter: Support hydrogen fuel technology
I would like to respond to the article "Middle East Oil leaves U.S. more Vulnerable" by Malcolm Wallop and George C. Landrith, which was published by your paper on Sept. 27. The fact that it was rich with terms like "radical environmentalists," the hard left" and "extremist agenda" does not bode well for an open discussion alternatives to the Bush administration's energy plan.

Letter: Now is the time to fold up the U. S. flag
Our spirit shattered with the World Trade Center. Our emotions flowed in every direction. When we did need a comfort we united under the red-white-blue. We decorated every corner of America with the US flag.

Letter: Minimum wage is not an excuse
For the past week, The Record has been publishing articles about airport security. Our Congress seems to think we must make screeners federal employees, and at least triple their pay if we expect them to do their jobs. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta is outraged at the lapse of security at O'Hare and proposes a stiff fine for the contractor.

Letter: Open house presentation superb
If the future quality of our the Record equals the well-orchestrated open house, our community is in for a journalistic treat. Both the style and substance of your open house were superb. I suspect the folks at Disney could have learned a few nuggets in handling such a large influx of folks.

Letter: Hatred and intolerance are symptoms
Robert G. Makin's letter that you published on Nov. 7 was troubling to me as a Christian. Apparently Mr. Makin holds all religions in disdain and is confused about the meaning of the word "fundamentalism."

Nease: 'State or bust'
With eight seniors returning from a team that captured the district championship last year, one would think Pedro Menendez's boys soccer team would have a clear path towards another district crown.

Wallace bound for links at FSU
It wasn't the pressure of, say, a 10-foot putt on the 18th at Augusta, but it was pressure nonetheless for the best golfer on the best team in the state.

Nease edges Forest
Metika Roche' scored 10 points in her varsity debut, Lauren Passa hit two clutch free throws and Irina Skinner made a big defensive play as Nease opened its girls basketball season Tuesday with a 36-33 victory over Ocala Forest in the Keystone Heights Thanksgiving Tournament.

Falcons soar over Raiders
The Pedro Menendez girls basketball team led 32-3 at halftime en route to a season-opening 61-16 victory over hapless Crescent City in the Raiders' gym Monday night.

Goosen leads Grand Slam
POIPU BEACH, Hawaii -- U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen shot a 6-under-par 66 on Tuesday to take a one-stroke lead over Masters champion Tiger Woods in the Grand Slam of Golf.

The Legends: It's always something...
As many loyal golf fans recall, in an effort to pump some player interest into the Legends of Golf, the PGA Tour recently announced that the format would change to include a new, individual, stroke play competition, but team categories would remain. The twist was that players couldn't compete in both portions of the event simultaneously. No double dipping. It was hailed as a great improvement for the event because it was felt that "hot" Senior players were skipping the event since the money was unofficial.

Gators reduced to spectatorsas big games are elsewhere
GAINESVILLE -- With each stop of the elevator, the silence was broken. With each stop of the elevator, more Florida football players piled in, and more bemusement was expressed at what they'd just watched in their hotel rooms.

Virtual golf, real cash
There can be a legitimate debate about who was the best golfer at the World Golf Hall of Fame Tuesday -- Paul Willey or Annika Sorenstam.

Suzuki wins his fourth MVP award
NEW YORK -- Ichiro Suzuki won his fourth Most Valuable Player Award, just like Barry Bonds. Only the first three came in Japan.

Jeff Gordon back at the head table
HAMPTON, Ga. -- It was only a year ago that Jeff Gordon finished ninth in the Winston Cup standings -- the worst showing since he was a rookie.

The fourth time's a charm
NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds became the first player to win four Most Valuable Player Awards, capping a record-breaking season in which his 73 home runs set the biggest mark of all.

The race is on for Masters invitations
Augusta National changed its qualifications for the Masters two years ago, placing more emphasis on the world ranking and eliminating the practice of giving invitations to any player who wins a PGA Tour event.

State Briefs
BAHIA HONDA, Cuba (AP) -- Filled with anguish, relatives of two Cubans missing since they boarded a speed boat for the United States on Friday were beginning to fear the worst on Tuesday.

Bush confident intangibles tax cut will be deferred
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday there are enough Republican lawmakers willing to vote to delay a tax cut for stock and bond holders to assure the Legislature will be able to balance the budget.

Budget cuts could prevent facilities from opening
The detention center at the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Justice Complex in Miami is built to hold 226 kids. On any given day, it might have 100 more than that, mostly troubled kids waiting for a residential program opening.

Warlord consolidating support in Herat
HERAT, Afghanistan -- Anti-Taliban warlord Ismail Khan's men have set up a checkpoint on the border with Iran and taken control of the main hospital and prison. He's even planning local elections -- but he said Tuesday he has no "desire for power" himself.

Sharing power in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The alliance that controls Afghanistan's capital and much of its countryside agreed Tuesday to attend power-sharing talks in Germany next week. A battlefront commander claimed thousands of Taliban fighters had defected from Kunduz, the last bastion of the Islamic militia in the north.